


The Last Supper [well for a while]

by TrekDr



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: A glimpse at a family dinner, Family happiness with fluff, Gen, Icheb as narrator, Post-Episode: s07e25 Endgame (Star Trek: Voyager), Reference to episodes Hunters and Fairhaven, and i loved the parrots, post endgame pre next adventure, should be part of a story arc i am writing but i think I might never get it done, so lets call it a trailer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-20
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2020-12-24 19:55:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21105116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrekDr/pseuds/TrekDr
Summary: Endgame happened, luckilly life diverged from expected quickly, J/C got together [i will tidy up that fic and bring across from fanfic - coming home to you] and weren’t quick enough with the boosters. Janeway adopted Icheb, Gretchen adopted seven [crossing the rubicon] and now voyager is shipping out again. Phoebe has 2 kids.TBH the other fics aren't needed reading, which is why i am posting. I mention only in case like me you always like to read the backstory. The front story should one day get onto fanfic, unless the Picard series stops it dead - hence wanting to post the parrots.Anyway, Icheb narrates the family dinner. Free standing, plotless, with reminiscence of voyager pranks led by ‘coffeeaddict’





	1. Breaking bread together

I would never have imagined family life to be so wonderful. I sit at the big oak table in Grams kitchen with her on one side and little Katelyn on the other. Opposite Mom and Dad, who are scandalising Grams whilst showing off their juggling skills to the kids. Juggling newly baked bread rolls whilst the kids cheer and place bets on who can do tricks.

Clearly mom is going to rise to the challenge!

Grams says she will have their hides if they drop any, but I know Mom and Chakotay— after all I am still coming to terms with Dad!—could carry on for hours. After all, they have thrown phasers, tricorders and who knows what else between them. Mom is a trajectory expert and Dad isn't a slouch either.

They finish to cheers and applause from everyone except Seven, who tries a tight smile. She is still not used to quite so much noise and exuberance, particularly from Mom. She also struggles with food being anything other than nutrition. I know that when she eats alone she mostly eats a variety of protein and nutritious shakes. Grams smiles at her.

'Seven. Dearest, I kept a roll back for you' and Seven's smile becomes less forced.

'Kathryn! Chakotay! Stop showing off playing with the food and get your backsides back on a chair!' and they both pretend to look abashed as they bring the rest of the food to the table and sit down. A conspirator's grin passes between them. I am hard pressed not to laugh.

Soon we are all tucking in to a cornucopia of grams best cooking. Mmmm chicken paprikash, certainly one of my favourites. Neelix's cooking has left me with a taste for spice.

Katelyn is giggling beside me and whispers to me 'I love Aunty Katie, she is sooo naughty!' and I just have to laugh out loud at that. The Captain, naughty! Not something we would ever have considered on Voyager.

Very few of us got to see anything but flashes of the person behind the Captain. Yes, occasionally we saw her wicked sense of humour, and her jokes and pranks were one of the joys of the journey when they sporadically occurred. Actually, perhaps we did all know this side of her existed. There was always uproar when 'coffeeaddict' posted 'mischief managed' on the scuttlebutt as the hunt was on to find out what she had done.

Sometimes these were small things that affected lots of people—like the cocktail umbrellas and twizzle sticks with hearts in all replicated cold drinks one day—a laughing morale boost. Sometimes they were more annoying, as with the colourful hologram parrots swooping around on the corridor outside engineering that repeated everything said at high volume. That is until B'Elanna managed to find the Captain's code and reprogram them after multiple attempts at failing to phaser them all, to many of the crews disappointment since they had grown larger and noisier with each phasering and rebirth until the size of small dragons. The engineering crew and a somewhat enlarged audience ‘not laughing’ had driven her to increasingly dramatic, expletive heavy attempts.

Seven had been most put out by the Captain shrieking with laughter - picked up and magnified by a dozen colourful birds.

I struggle to hide a grin, the less socialised me had also found it entirely scandalous, but looking back... The birds were beautifully rendered, multicoloured and joyful. Their rainbow feathers a delight for Naomi, who at one point had stood in the middle of circling parrots with arms outstretched as the feathers fell on her like ticker tape. I bet the captain programmed that just for her, as the parrots made a beeline for her. I wonder if she ever got to play with the parrots again.

This was the start of a merry, escalating, war went on between the Captain and her Chief Engineer, on and off,which ended when the Captain's replicator allegedly said 'you've had enough now Kathryn in Q’s voice' when she ordered her umpteenth coffee of the day. Apparently this was 'going too far' and her executive officer was required to step into the breach.

'Icheb!' and I snap to as Seven is looking pointedly at me. Mom laughs again. I love her laughter.

'It's alright Icheb, Where were you?' and blushingly I admit I was with holographic parrots.

All eyes swivel to me and Mom giggles. Aunt Phoebe begs me to tell all. Between me, Mom, Chakotay and a very disapproving Seven, we tell the tale of the parrots, the phasering, the holosnow in the ready room, with appropriately decreased environmental temperature, the replicator in the Chief Engineer's office only offering Klingon food and swearing at anyone daring to order anything else—in Klingon, and then the lack of coffee in the ready room…

As Mom has a knack of telling stories, with Chakotay weaving in commentary, all are soon hysterical.

Seven is still griping about it being inefficient and distracting. When Mom tries to show that it was a huge morale lift for the whole crew, and it would have stopped in an instant if we were required to respond to any emergency, Seven is still not mollified. I believe they may have had that same discussion a number of times.

Then she drops a bombshell, the parrots had, of course, been choreographed with B’Elanna from the start! Even Chakotay is clearly surprised at that.

‘Kathryn!’ He expostulates as she casts him a cheeky grin. ‘You both had me fooled! You yelled at me 6 ways to Sunday, especially over the coffee, and B’elanna!’ He shudders ‘I honestly thought she was coming after you with a batleth!’

Laughter ensues. ‘But it was funny, sweetheart, and we knew how the crew would see us, and anyway, its not as if B’Elanna could have actually used a live phaser! it was an excellent idea to get us over, well, things... ’ and there is a pause as some of us remember those ‘things’

Aunty Phoebs, who I adore, comes to the rescue of a sticky moment and rolls her eyes and promises a crash course in humour is required. To a raised ocular implant response from Seven, taking up the straight man gauntlet.

Katelyn and Paul are laughing and clapping, the momentary tension missing them, 'more aunty Katie! We want parrots! Can we have parrots for Christmas?' and Mom laughs even more whilst Aunty Phoebs pales.

Chakotay glosses over the moment, and he and I roll other of the 'pranks' the coffeeaddict got up to, and then move over to her partner in crime 'goldenboy', we all knew as Tom's alter ego, though he resolutely never owned up. In fact, he went out of his way to look hurt, claiming a set up. obviously another well considered act! Perhaps the ship was populated with good actors.

Chakotay is busy describing one of his boxing bouts with the 'Feeble Weeble' and how he was getting more and more exhausted because no matter how hard he punched or tried, the damn man just wasn't going down. In fact, he realised, the man would start going down but would swing back up!  
He sensed a rat.  
We get the whole picture of a sweat drenched Chakotay going from puzzlement to suspicion and then stalking towards the holodeck console and finding the alteration to his programme with Tom's codes around it.

'It was da..arned clever' Chakotay growled to peals of laughter, luckily remembering the two childen present. 'Tom absolutely denied it was him, and said I had wronged him! As if!' and whilst most of us laugh, I notice Aunt Phoebe looking at Mom in a weird way, and Mom has her top lip sucked in and is looking in pain. I think she is trying very hard not to laugh.

'No way!' says Aunt Phoebe—'yes way!' Mom answers and they burst into further peals of laughter, clearly not directly related to Chakotay's story.

Oh oh!

He swivels around, and looking at his face, seeing that he is reassessing the situation, I also realise...

It was Mom!

He looks mock-menacingly at her, and she correctly assesses his mood and scampers out of her chair, running round the table to laugh at him from behind me and Grams.

'It was you!' he roars, chair crashing back as he rises.  
He would be terrifying if truly in anger, but we can also see the twinkle in his eye, and the intermittant appearance of dimple! he makes feints in either direction before they both circle the table so that he is now behind us. Katelyn and Paul are squealing with laughter, cheering them both on, whilst Grams is rolling her eyes.

'What about the shower?' Chakotay bellows. Her scrunched face as she tries not to laugh hysterically, tells us that was her prank too. 'I hardly dared have a water shower for three months!' he roars as they circle the table again. 'The temperature would become icy, or it would smell of roses, Damnit kathryn! Your perfume!'

he growls again as he charges at her on a straight.

'once it even made me damned glow in the dark! Tuvok used me as bait in an exercise!'

Mom is laughing so hard at the memory that her legs fail her, and Chakotay swoops in and picks her up and hoists her over his shoulder.

‘Was it just so there was enough to fill that big bath of yours? I should have just got in with you!’ He thunders.

‘Would have provided clarity’ Seven murmurs.

Mom is in no state to retaliate, she can hardly breathe with laughter, collapsed limply rather than fighting for freedom, with a gasping squeal being her only sound.

'Gretchen, what is your punishment regime? In my family it's a dunking in the lake for such heinous crimes!' and he waggles his eyebrows.

Phoebe suggests the water butts in the garden might work, and as Mom squeals more loudly and, finally having breath, sues for peace, kicking her legs out whilst he gives a mock wallop to her backside.

Katelyn and Paul sprint up to grab Chakotay. 'we'll save you Aunty Katie!' they chime. He allows himself to be mollified with a well acted show of great reluctance, placing her back on the ground, and Mom has to promise never ever to do anything like that again.

She has the angelic appearance of her niece when promising not to sneak and eat the caramel brownies. We all believe her as we would Katelyn. That is to say, not at all.

Grams settles us all back down again, and Chakotay leaves off his growling when Mom gives him a peck on the cheek. I wonder how much grief Tom had from Chakotay for all these mis-attributed crimes. It is clear that Mom is not at all sorry really.

'you are still in trouble' he mock grumbles at her, as she soothes him with protestations of love, a smattering of kisses and reminds him she is the mother of his child.

We all know that he is beat!

I clear the table and Grams brings desert, while Mom continues to mollify Chakotay with her sweet talking. Cherry pie with ice-cream. He surrenders, claiming it is only for the love of his mother in law’s cooking.

For a while there is the silence of appreciation.

This is family life! Laughing and being close, eating good food and knowing that together you make each other happy, that you are loved. I look at Seven, also smiling, and thank the stars that we came back to the Alpha Quadrant and both found a home among the sprawling Janeway family. That I have learnt humour, laughter and such happiness, and Seven… well I think she has learned to tolerate humour and has definitely found happiness too among her new collective. We understand truly the value of what we have here. It is something that neither of us recall having before.

I think of my Borg-nearly family, a disparate group of immature drones who Seven attempted to build into a family. I am so grateful for her efforts, but we never could have recreated this without help, and we just didn't have this sense of laughter and joy. We struggled to move beyond the Borg conditioning of inefficiency versus excellence. I am sure Azan and Rebi found this laughter and love with their grandmother as she seemed a welcoming and loving woman, and I really hope Mezoti did too. I grin at Seven and mouth 'thank you' and realise she must have had similar thoughts as she just smiles back. We are home, truly home.

No wonder Mom had such a passion to get us all back here.


	2. And now to bed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following dinner, Chakotay thinks about the spare holoemitters from post hunters. Janeway POV

I can't quite believe that it has taken him this long to ask about the holo-emitters.

I worried on Voyager whether anyone would make an exact count, well 'Lanna, Harry or Tuvok. Maybe Seven. Now, as we let ourselves back into the apartment, and I am still warmed by the glow of family laughter, no guard at all, he makes his move.

Damned maquis tactics.

Chakotay had seen the plan to use the excess holo-emitters following the Hirogen mass increase: for engineering, the mess and the bridge, as a back up for the doctor to attend us in an emergency. In a fit of hubris, I placed holo-emitters along the corridors to these areas so the Doctor could walk with us and have more of a normal interaction with the crew. He took great joy in it, and the other holo-emitters did help, both with getting the doctor about quickly, but also with morale.

But it is not those emitters that Chakotay is questioning me about.

Damned parrots! I should have known that they would eventually get me into trouble.

'Come on Kathryn, I can't believe I never asked where they all went! Did you?'

his eyes show his laughter at me, he already knows really. This is just one more shareable secret.

'yes,' i sulkily grouch out 'I did place some in my quarters, eventually, in the end when I ... Only when… only when a pair of Irish eyes tempted me.' I try to brazen it out, chin up and armour on.

'Damnit Chakotay! It isn't funny!' He is actually heaving with laughter, uncontrollable clutching and belly-deep laughter, and it bursts out. Not the outcome I had expected.

'It's not as if I could… indulge… in Fairhaven. It was an open programme! What if Harry had caught me. It was embarrassing that they knew of the… harmless flirtation' I bluster.

As the tears stream down his face and he fails to get any words out, I thump him hard in the chest.

'The doctor said I should, for health reasons,' I stand with my final defence, and Chakotay is practically wailing with laughter, unable to catch his breath and having to sit down.

'… anyway, It just wasn't right, I stopped, he just wasn't…' thumping Chakotay again in the upper arm 'he just wasn't you, damnit!' and I storm off to make coffee with my beautiful, shiny, state of the art coffee machine, freshly grinding the beans, and, oh, the aroma.

Damn the man! As he stops laughing, very gradually, I know he will have a smug look on his face for a long time this evening.

And if he doesn't stop laughing quickly, he will be sleeping on the couch, I decide.

'Should I check for them tomorrow' he coughs, clearly to cover another fit of laughing. Settling down, he then murmurs, 'Kathryn, you only had to ask…'

And I whirl around, death glare level ten, one hand on hip and the other waving at him.

'Don't you dare, Chakotay, don't you dare tell! Don't you dare judge me either. Seven long years, damnit, and you ! You, the sexiest man to cross my path, always beside me, always tempting, always so, so out of reach. I had only to ask?'

He gives me his all-hands-on-deck full wattage grin as I am pulled into his embrace. The coffee is quickly abandoned, and as the aroma spreads through our apartment, I am instead spiralling into joy. There is something about having the real thing that makes all else a pale imitation.

smug devil.


End file.
